Shakespeare on the Global Stage Performance and Festivity in the Olympic Year

by Prescott, Paul; Sullivan, Erin

• ISBN13: 9781472520326
• ISBN10: 1472520327
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2015-03-26
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Arden Shakespeare

Summary

Long held as Britain's 'national poet', Shakespeare's role in the 2012 London Cultural Olympiad confirmed his status as a global icon in the modern world. From his prominent positioning in the Olympic and Paralympic ceremonies, to his major presence in the cultural programme surrounding the Games, including the Royal Shakespeare Company's World Shakespeare Festival and the Globe's Globe to Globe Festival, Shakespeare played a major role in the way the UK presented itself to its citizens and to the world.

This collection explores the cultural forces at play in the construction, use and reception of Shakespeare during the 2012 Olympic Moment, considering what his presence says about culture, politics and identity in twenty-first century British and global life.

Author Biography

Paul Prescott is Associate Professor at the University of Warwick, UK, a specialist in Shakespeare theatre reviewing, and a teaching associate for The Royal Shakespeare Company.

Erin Sullivan is a Lecturer, Fellow, and the Distance Learning Co-ordinator at The Shakespeare Institute, University of Birmingham, UK.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction - Paul Prescott (University of Warwick, UK) and Erin Sullivan (University of Birmingham, UK)
2. Precedents - Paul Prescott
3. Organisation - Tom Bird (Shakespeare's Globe) and Deborah Shaw (RSC)
4. Celebration - Peter Kirwin (Universioty of Nottingham, UK)
5. Spectatorship - Stephen Purcell (University of Warwick, UK)
6. Multiculturalism - Tony Howard (University of Warwick, UK)
7. Regionalism - Adam Hansen (Northumbria University, UK) and Monika Smialkowska (Northumbria University, UK)
8. Nation - Stuart Hampton-Reeves (University of Central Lancashire)
9. Globalism - Colette Gordon (University of Cape Town, South Africa)
10. Television - Roberta Pearson (University of Nottingham, UK)
11. Education - Tracy Irish (RSC)
12. Legacy - Erin Sullivan
13. Afterword - Kate McLuskie (University of Birmingham, UK)
Biblioghraphy
Index